ABSTRACT
Popular press now cites experts as agreeing that the best hope for success in the war against drugs is to turn from interdiction to prevention and treatment (Zuckerman, 1993). This agreement has come at least in part because more than $100 billion spent attempting to reduce the availability of illegal drugs since 1981 has not significantly reduced either their availability or their use. In turning to prevention and treatment, however, governments and private organizations are looking more carefully than ever for those approaches that are most effective, safest, and least costly to administer. This article focuses on the early withdrawal phase of treatment, outlining the special problems encountered at this phase and summarizing research suggesting that the Transcendental Meditation program is an unusually promising technology currently underutilized during drug detoxification.
